Specific aims: 1) to obtain synovial tissue-derived T cells from patients in the early stages of RA by the use of office-based arthroscopy. 2) to accurately assess the Tcr repertoirs used by the synovial-derived T cells by sequencing Tcr encoding cDNA after amplification by the inverse polymerase chain reaction. 3) to compare the Tcr encoding sequences from the joint and the peripheral blood from patients with early RA. Due to our difficulty in obtaining patients, fulfilling the entry criteria of the study and willingness to participate in the study, we have not been able, to date, to enroll any study patients. Screening of eligible patients will continue. The investigators for this study consulted with the GCRC Biostatistician.